Study of the compositional changes of mango during ripening by use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Liquid-state NMR spectroscopy was used to follow the compositional changes in mango juice during ripening, whereas MAS and HR-MAS techniques enabled r esolved C-13 and H-1 NMR spectra of mango pulps to be recorded. Spectral as signment enabled the identification of several organic acids, amino acids, and other minor components, and the compositional changes upon ripening wer e followed through the changes in the spectra. In pulps, sucrose was found to predominate over fructose and glucose at most ripening stages, and citri c acid content decreased markedly after the initial ripening stages while a lanine increased significantly. Other spectral changes reflect the complex biochemistry of mango ripening and enabled the role played by some compound s to be discussed. Some differences observed between the composition of jui ces and pulps are discussed. This work shows that NMR spectroscopy enables the direct characterization of intact mango pulps, thus allowing the noninv asive study of the overall biochemistry in the whole fruit.